Today my study was in Job Chapter 11
Sometimes we suffer. It's inevitable. It's going to happen.
Maybe you find yourself depressed, or ill, or alone, or overwhelmed. No matter what the suffering is about, you will always find well-meaning friends who try to help you, but end up making you feel worse than you already do.
Perhaps that is part of the process.
God wants you to stand on your own feet in front of Him. He wants the relationship you have with Him to be personal, not commune. In a myriad of personal experiences the commune inevitably grows.
You know your pain better than anyone else -- except God. And, trust is the issue.
Do you trust God to do what is best for you?
The Bible calls us to endure suffering. Endure. If we can endure until the end with the Praise of God still on our lips, we shall be saved.
Job
Chapter 11
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.
5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.
13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:
17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
Where Praising God Comes Natural!
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Anger, Jealousy, Sin and Terror: The beginning of Joseph's legacy
Read Genesis Chapter 37
One day, all of the sons of Jacob (except Benjamin, of course, he was still too young) went out to feed the sheep in Shechem (as the land was still called at that time). Joseph stayed behind with his father.
Israel (as God had had renamed Jacob, meaning "Triumphant with God") asked Joseph, "Hey, aren't your brothers in Shechem today?" Then, he told Joseph, "Why don't you go see how they are doing for me?"
When Joseph got to Shechem, the brothers were not there. He wandered around looking for them until a man saw him and told him, "I heard them talking about going to Dothan. You might look there." So, Joseph went to Dothan.
The brothers saw him coming from a distance. "Look, the Dreamer is coming," they sneered. "Let's kill him and throw him in a pit. We'll just tell Dad that some wild animal got him. What will become of the Dreamer then?!" But Reuben, the oldest brother, was more protective.
"No, don't kill him. Just throw him into a pit." Reuben knew he couldn't "fight the mob", so to speak; but, if he was clever, he could rescue Joseph later.
When Joseph finally got there, they stripped off his precious "coat of many colors" that his father had made for him as a gift. Then, they threw him into a pit that had dried up. Then, as if nothing had happened, they sat down to eat.
I'm sure Joseph was terrified. His worst nightmare was coming true. The hurt he felt must have been enormous. He was stuck in a dark, empty well with no way out -- and he had yet to learn how much his brothers really hated him. In their jealousy, they couldn't see there faults. They didn't care about honoring God, or their father. The only right thing they did in this whole operation was keep him alive.
As the brothers ate, they looked up to see Ishmaelites going to Egypt with goods to trade. As Joseph cried from the well for mercy, Judah grinned as an idea suddenly struck him: "What good will it do us to kill Joseph? Let's sell him to our cousins, the Ishmaelites. He is our brother; Reuben is right. We shouldn't kill him."
However, before they could carry out their plan, a band of Midianites (also cousins) passed by the pit and heard Joseph's screams. They pulled him out and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for $2,500.00 (in today's currency, that is how much it came to).
When Reuben got to the pit, planning to do what the Midianites did, Joseph was already gone. "Oh no. What am I going to do now?" he thought.
Well, the brothers still had the coat that Joseph wore. They killed a newborn baby goat (because that would be easy to hide from his father. They could always say the nanny had miscarried), and they smeared it's blood on the coat. (Good thing for them that DNA testing hadn't been invented yet). They took the coat to their father, telling him that they had found his coat, but hadn't seen Joseph. This led Isaac to believe that his son had been killed by a wild animal.
Jacob/Israel was heartbroken. He mourned hard for Joseph and no one could comfort him. He vowed that he would mourn for Joseph until the day he died. Can you imagine the darkness of the guilt that his other sons eventually had to live with?
The Midianites sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. The Midianites, remember, are also descended from Abraham, through a son by Abraham's second wife Keturah, after Sarah had died (Genesis 25:1,2) They sold Joseph to Potiphar, who just happened to be the Captain of the Guard for Pharoah, the king of Egypt. This sin did not only occur among Joseph's brothers, it occurred among his kinsmen, his cousins who did not know him.
Note: This is the first time I really noticed that his brothers did not sell him into slavery as I have been taught. The Bible clearly says that the Midianites pulled him out before they could carry out their plan. Oh yes, they were still guilty because of their intention, but they didn't actually commit the crime. (Read Matthew 5:20-30 to understand this further)
One day, all of the sons of Jacob (except Benjamin, of course, he was still too young) went out to feed the sheep in Shechem (as the land was still called at that time). Joseph stayed behind with his father.
Israel (as God had had renamed Jacob, meaning "Triumphant with God") asked Joseph, "Hey, aren't your brothers in Shechem today?" Then, he told Joseph, "Why don't you go see how they are doing for me?"
When Joseph got to Shechem, the brothers were not there. He wandered around looking for them until a man saw him and told him, "I heard them talking about going to Dothan. You might look there." So, Joseph went to Dothan.
The brothers saw him coming from a distance. "Look, the Dreamer is coming," they sneered. "Let's kill him and throw him in a pit. We'll just tell Dad that some wild animal got him. What will become of the Dreamer then?!" But Reuben, the oldest brother, was more protective.
"No, don't kill him. Just throw him into a pit." Reuben knew he couldn't "fight the mob", so to speak; but, if he was clever, he could rescue Joseph later.
When Joseph finally got there, they stripped off his precious "coat of many colors" that his father had made for him as a gift. Then, they threw him into a pit that had dried up. Then, as if nothing had happened, they sat down to eat.
I'm sure Joseph was terrified. His worst nightmare was coming true. The hurt he felt must have been enormous. He was stuck in a dark, empty well with no way out -- and he had yet to learn how much his brothers really hated him. In their jealousy, they couldn't see there faults. They didn't care about honoring God, or their father. The only right thing they did in this whole operation was keep him alive.
As the brothers ate, they looked up to see Ishmaelites going to Egypt with goods to trade. As Joseph cried from the well for mercy, Judah grinned as an idea suddenly struck him: "What good will it do us to kill Joseph? Let's sell him to our cousins, the Ishmaelites. He is our brother; Reuben is right. We shouldn't kill him."
However, before they could carry out their plan, a band of Midianites (also cousins) passed by the pit and heard Joseph's screams. They pulled him out and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for $2,500.00 (in today's currency, that is how much it came to).
When Reuben got to the pit, planning to do what the Midianites did, Joseph was already gone. "Oh no. What am I going to do now?" he thought.
Well, the brothers still had the coat that Joseph wore. They killed a newborn baby goat (because that would be easy to hide from his father. They could always say the nanny had miscarried), and they smeared it's blood on the coat. (Good thing for them that DNA testing hadn't been invented yet). They took the coat to their father, telling him that they had found his coat, but hadn't seen Joseph. This led Isaac to believe that his son had been killed by a wild animal.
Jacob/Israel was heartbroken. He mourned hard for Joseph and no one could comfort him. He vowed that he would mourn for Joseph until the day he died. Can you imagine the darkness of the guilt that his other sons eventually had to live with?
The Midianites sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. The Midianites, remember, are also descended from Abraham, through a son by Abraham's second wife Keturah, after Sarah had died (Genesis 25:1,2) They sold Joseph to Potiphar, who just happened to be the Captain of the Guard for Pharoah, the king of Egypt. This sin did not only occur among Joseph's brothers, it occurred among his kinsmen, his cousins who did not know him.
Note: This is the first time I really noticed that his brothers did not sell him into slavery as I have been taught. The Bible clearly says that the Midianites pulled him out before they could carry out their plan. Oh yes, they were still guilty because of their intention, but they didn't actually commit the crime. (Read Matthew 5:20-30 to understand this further)
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Event: See You At the Pole (Sept 27, 2017)
God Inspires would like to encourage everyone to join hands around the flagpoles at your local schools, churches and places of business and pray on September 27, 2017.
Learn more about this event by clicking HERE
New Christian Connection: Mission America Coalition
The Mission America Coalition (MAC) is an alliance of leaders in evangelism and discipleship who have prayerfully come together to mobilize the Church to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in deed and word.
Born in 1995 as the United States' Committee of the global Lausanne Movement, the Mission America Coalition has had high level involvement from 81 denominations, over 350 ministry organizations, dozens of national ministry networks, hundreds of citywide collaborations, and now over 600 individual evangelism leaders.
The newest initiative of the Coalition, quickly becoming a movement in the Church, is LOVE2020. It’s vision is that EVERY person in America have the opportunity to be authentically loved by at least one committed follower of Jesus Christ within this decade.
Check out Mission America for yourself by clicking HERE!
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Dried up Souls...
Read 1 Kings Chapter 17
Elijah the Tishbite of Gilead told Ahab, "As the Lord God lives, there shall not be any rain for years. There will not be any dew, either." Then, God told Elijah, "Go and hide by the brook Cherith.
He did, and the ravens brought him meat morning and night, and he drank from the brook until the brook dried up because of the drought.
Then God told Elijah to go to Zaraphath in Zidon, "I have commanded a widow woman there to care for you." So he went.
When he got there, the widow was gathering sticks, so he called to her, "Could you get me a drink of water?" When she went after the water he called after her, "I'd like something to eat, too!"
She turned around and said, "I barely have enough for one more meal. That is what I was fixing to do, gather sticks and cook one more meal for me and my son and then we were going to die."
Elijah said, "Don't be afraid. Go and cook your meal, but cook mine first. God has said you will not run out until it rains." She did as she was told and they all ate well until the drought was over.
Then the woman's son got sick and died. She took him to Elijah and demanded, "Why did you come here? Did you come to call my sins into rememberance so God would slay my son?" So he took the boy to his room and stretched over him three times, praying, "Why did you slay this woman's son? She has been nothing but good to me! Please bring life back into him!" And God heard him and He did.
Elijah took the boy to his mother and said, "He is alive." She then said, "I believe you truly are from the Lord, now."
**************
Elijah did everything the Lord asked him to do; so, when Elijah prayed, God listened. This is probably why God wanted Elijah to go and hide after delivering His message to Ahab. Ahab knew that Elijah had the Lord's ear. If he had kept Elijah there, Ahab may have forced Elijah to pray for rain, and God would have heard and done as He was asked. God didn't want that to happen.
In Genesis, Chapter 18, the Angel of the Lord came to Abraham and told him what He would do to Sodom and Gomorrah. He also told Abraham that if there was just one righteous man there, he would spare the cities. So, Lot had to leave. This time it was Elijah leaving.
The woman's son became ill because, after all the woman had seen, she still did not believe. Elijah bringing him back was God's way of saying, "Yes, Virginia, I do exist."
Sometimes God uses tragedy to prove His presence, because that is the only way He can get our attention. He wants us all to know, "Hey, I'm right here!"
Elijah the Tishbite of Gilead told Ahab, "As the Lord God lives, there shall not be any rain for years. There will not be any dew, either." Then, God told Elijah, "Go and hide by the brook Cherith.
He did, and the ravens brought him meat morning and night, and he drank from the brook until the brook dried up because of the drought.
Then God told Elijah to go to Zaraphath in Zidon, "I have commanded a widow woman there to care for you." So he went.
When he got there, the widow was gathering sticks, so he called to her, "Could you get me a drink of water?" When she went after the water he called after her, "I'd like something to eat, too!"
She turned around and said, "I barely have enough for one more meal. That is what I was fixing to do, gather sticks and cook one more meal for me and my son and then we were going to die."
Elijah said, "Don't be afraid. Go and cook your meal, but cook mine first. God has said you will not run out until it rains." She did as she was told and they all ate well until the drought was over.
Then the woman's son got sick and died. She took him to Elijah and demanded, "Why did you come here? Did you come to call my sins into rememberance so God would slay my son?" So he took the boy to his room and stretched over him three times, praying, "Why did you slay this woman's son? She has been nothing but good to me! Please bring life back into him!" And God heard him and He did.
Elijah took the boy to his mother and said, "He is alive." She then said, "I believe you truly are from the Lord, now."
**************
Elijah did everything the Lord asked him to do; so, when Elijah prayed, God listened. This is probably why God wanted Elijah to go and hide after delivering His message to Ahab. Ahab knew that Elijah had the Lord's ear. If he had kept Elijah there, Ahab may have forced Elijah to pray for rain, and God would have heard and done as He was asked. God didn't want that to happen.
In Genesis, Chapter 18, the Angel of the Lord came to Abraham and told him what He would do to Sodom and Gomorrah. He also told Abraham that if there was just one righteous man there, he would spare the cities. So, Lot had to leave. This time it was Elijah leaving.
The woman's son became ill because, after all the woman had seen, she still did not believe. Elijah bringing him back was God's way of saying, "Yes, Virginia, I do exist."
Sometimes God uses tragedy to prove His presence, because that is the only way He can get our attention. He wants us all to know, "Hey, I'm right here!"
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Wayfaring Stranger
Genesis 19
1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
Three angels left Abraham. Two went to Sodom. Lot was Abraham's nephew. He, too, feared God. He, too, was taught that strangers were to be treated with respect and honor and dignity., not judgment, condemnation or contempt. He offered the strangers a place to stay where they would be safe and have a good meal and be comfortable.
They did not want to inconvenience Lot. They were testing him. Lot, a man of God, begged them to stay with him, "Really! It's no problem! We would LOVE to have you! It would make me feel better to know you were safe here."
These are men; strangers that he didn't even know. How often do we, today, have the opportunity to entertain strangers in such a way? How many times do we "fail the test"?
They finally yielded to him and went into his home, and it was a good thing they did.
Strangers should always be treated as friends you didn't know you had. Just remember, we are all strangers to someone. How would YOU want to be treated?
1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
Three angels left Abraham. Two went to Sodom. Lot was Abraham's nephew. He, too, feared God. He, too, was taught that strangers were to be treated with respect and honor and dignity., not judgment, condemnation or contempt. He offered the strangers a place to stay where they would be safe and have a good meal and be comfortable.
They did not want to inconvenience Lot. They were testing him. Lot, a man of God, begged them to stay with him, "Really! It's no problem! We would LOVE to have you! It would make me feel better to know you were safe here."
These are men; strangers that he didn't even know. How often do we, today, have the opportunity to entertain strangers in such a way? How many times do we "fail the test"?
They finally yielded to him and went into his home, and it was a good thing they did.
Strangers should always be treated as friends you didn't know you had. Just remember, we are all strangers to someone. How would YOU want to be treated?
If this has inspired you, please share it!
Monday, July 31, 2017
Pride Rationalizes
Pride is a terrible thing. It makes you rationalize the reasons to remain in the state that makes you miserable.
You can't say you have given it to Jesus to take care of while still feeling angry and miserable. If you feel angry and miserable it's evidence that you haven't given anything to God but words.
Actions speak louder than words. That's not in the Bible...in those words, but it is there:
James 2
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Pray for those who profess to believe, yet doubt their ability to have faith.
If this has inspired you, please share it!
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